Vega launches reentry technology demonstrator
Posted: Thu, Feb 12, 2015, 7:29 AM ET (1229 GMT)
A Vega rocket launched a European Space Agency experimental spaceplane Wednesday, a vehicle that splashed down successfully after a 100-minute flight. The Vega rocket lifted off from Kourou, French Guiana, at 8:40 am EST (10:40 am local time, 1340 GMT) Wednesday after a 40-minute delay due to a telemetry issue. The vehicle placed ESA's Intermediate eXperimental Vehicle (IXV), a small robotic spaceplane, into a suborbital trajectory, reentering and splashing down in the Pacific near the Galapagos Islands an hour and 40 minutes after liftoff. A recovery ship located and broght on board IXV, and ESA declared the flight a success. The flight was designed to test technologies that could be used for future reusable spaceplanes, although ESA's specific plans for such vehicles are uncertain.
A Vega rocket launched a European Space Agency experimental spaceplane Wednesday, a vehicle that splashed down successfully after a 100-minute flight. The Vega rocket lifted off from Kourou, French Guiana, at 8:40 am EST (10:40 am local time, 1340 GMT) Wednesday after a 40-minute delay due to a telemetry issue. The vehicle placed ESA's Intermediate eXperimental Vehicle (IXV), a small robotic spaceplane, into a suborbital trajectory, reentering and splashing down in the Pacific near the Galapagos Islands an hour and 40 minutes after liftoff. A recovery ship located and broght on board IXV, and ESA declared the flight a success. The flight was designed to test technologies that could be used for future reusable spaceplanes, although ESA's specific plans for such vehicles are uncertain.
Related Links:
| <<previous article | next article>> |
|
news in brief
|
|
|
|
news links
|
|
Wednesday, August 12
Firefly Now Targeting Next Alpha Flight By Year’s End
Aviation Week — 4:54 am ET (0854 GMT) 'Russian Starlink' Is Fast Becoming A Reality, There's Just One Problem For The Kremlin
Radio Free Europe — 4:52 am ET (0852 GMT) Firefly Aerospace Announces Extension of Multi-Launch Agreement with Lockheed Martin Through 2031
Firefly Aerospace — 4:50 am ET (0850 GMT) Firefly’s SciTec Awarded $94 Million U.S. Space Force Contract to Advance Ground-Based Radar Digitization Program
Firefly Aerospace — 4:49 am ET (0849 GMT) Registration Now Open for Spacepower Conference 2026
EINPresswire.com — 4:49 am ET (0849 GMT) |
